The first planning meeting for this year's fly-in was July 18, and with 8 volunteers present to form a committee, it was decided to proceed with the fly-in. The date will be Saturday September 24. Both Sonex and Titan are interested in setting up a booth at this year's fly-in. On the whole, it will be much like last years, but this time we will advertise it to the general public.
Youth Programs
An offer to donate basic materials and tools to start a chapter airplane project has been received, but only if youth participate. Send a note to the chapter e-mail if you would be willing to supervise the kids in this. The project will die on the vine otherwise.
Flying club
What to do with some project airplane completed by the chapter? Sport Aviation this month has an article on forming a flying club tied to an EAA chapter, and chapter members are asked to read this. (There is now a phone app from national to read Sport Aviation on phones and tablets.)
Presentations
At the 8/11 chapter meeting, Jeff Keller from Caterpillar gave a presentation on the company's UAV ("drone") program. They survey a site in minutes, optically, to about 3 cm accuracy, using a camera in the drone. Optical targets (see photo) are first surveyed by GPS and then used as the reference points for the rest of the survey. The resulting survey can be used to compute volumes of stockpiles, the grades of haul roads, and the heights of quarry faces, etc. The presentation included a discussion of the current FAA rules (including the new Part 107) regarding UAVs, their pilots, and operations. Cat employs quad and hex copters and flying wing drones, the latter having better endurance. Commercial software such as Pix4D as well as proprietary software is used in their photogrammetry work.
A Trimble UX5 UAV and a GPS marker.
Donations
Ron Vice has donated a canopy cover to an Ercoupe, which will be sold and the funds deposited. Brian Briggerman has donated a C-150 towbar. An old table top flight simulator has been donated by R.L. Wheeler from Canton. He'd like to see it set up for use by younger members; this will be brought up at a chapter meeting.
Treasury
So far this year, the chapter is close to budget. Overall, expenses have been lower than budgeted. However, there are fewer planes in the hangar, and utilities are about $200 ahead of last year. Youth committee spending has been nearly met by donations. The net is about $260 behind that budgeted. Hangar fees are 77% of expenses.
Hangar
The coffee pot was left on last week; please take care.
Members
Please welcome new member Ron Dorn. At the moment, he is working weekdays in Peoria and commuting back to his family in Sun Prairie, WI for the weekends. He's also a member of the Madison "Corben" chapter of the EAA. He has joined the committee working to arrange our September 24 fly-in.
Ron Wright's latest airplane is checked off, and he will have it in the hangar for another month or two.
Airport
3MY
Congressman LaHood will have a "meet and greet" for area general aviation pilots next week. It's here at 3MY, on Tuesday morning, 8/23, from 9 until 10. Stop by and let him know your concerns.
Sadly, Allmond Aviation closed this summer, with the family moving out of state. Best wishes to Renae, Adama, and the boys. Both their 152 and their Champ are said to have been sold, with the new owner planning to open a similar operation. Airlines are short pilots and instructors have been lured away, but the new owner hopes to have several instructors lined up.
The new maintenance hangar (behind the FBO) is finished. In response to complaints about rocks on the field, the airport has vacuumed all the paved areas. Funds to repair a few of the larger cracks might yet become available this year.
The two hangars available at 3MY are the two least desirable ones and are proving a difficult sell. One hangar will be freed by the new maintenance building.
Mary at the Airport Authority wants every hangar renter at 3MY to have a current contract in place. People have been swapping hangars, and the records are out of date.
Gene Olson, director of Peoria's airports, spoke at the July chapter meeting. In addition to requesting volunteers for the C.A.F.'s visit to PIA in early August, he also took questions from the members present. He noted a new fence is needed at 3MY, for both kids and wildlife have been running across the runway. Regarding the FAA's new rules for acceptable hangar usage, current PIA policy is nominally airplanes only, which of course meets these new FAA rules. In practice at PIA, so long as an airplane is there, other items have been permitted; however, no fuel or other flammables. The new FAA rules allow aircraft projects as a suitable justification for acquiring a hangar.
Gene is involved in Scouting. There is in planning a Camporee on 3MY in late October, offered to the Scouts in the Peoria County area. We will try to offer airplane inspections and possibly Young Eagles flights.
PIA
EAA 563 filled a number of the airport escort positions for the Commemorative Air Force stop-over. While there were many volunteers from the chapter, the airport did not contact some of them in time to complete a TSA security check. A special commendation for director Greg LePine, who was on duty for the entire five day event.
The CAF put on a most impressive display of old aircraft, with six types present: B-29, P-51, C-45 (Beech 18), AT-6, PT-17, and T-34. At one point Sunday, the B-29 was spinning up its engines for its fourth flight of the weekend, while the T-34 was taxiing in and the AT-6 out, and the P-51 was being pushed onto the flight line for its first flight of the day. The public purchased rides on all of the airplanes present.
There is some interest in forming a CAF chapter in Peoria. The CAF has planes which need a home. At least 25 charter members are needed to form a wing. If you are interested in being a charter member, please either contact Jeff Meyer or use the chapter e-mail account.
The crowd was thin most of Wednesday,but thick on the weekend, especially Sunday.View from the CAF's Twin Beech C-45.
Please welcome new member Ron Dorn. At the moment, he is working weekdays in Peoria and commuting back to his family in Sun Prairie, WI for the weekends. He's also a member of the Madison "Corben" chapter of the EAA. He has joined the committee working to arrange our September 24 fly-in.
Ron Wright's latest airplane is checked off, and he will have it in the hangar for another month or two.
